International press freedom watchdog group Reporters Sans Frontières released Tuesday its Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2007, which measures the level of press freedom in 169 countries. The index revealed Eritrea has replaced North Korea as being in last place in the world with respect to press freedom, while Iceland claimed the number one spot as best in the world.

Online press freedom violations are playing an increasing role in affecting overall press freedom around the world, as the most oppressive governments, such as China, are finding new ways to quash freedom of speech, the index reported.

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British publishing giant Mecom is planning to bid on a 62 percent stake in Sueddeutscher Verlag, the Stuttgart-based group that publishes Germany's largest broadsheet daily, Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

The deal would value the newspaper group at more than 1 billion euro (£695 million).

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In a document filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission late Friday, Belo Corp. has outlined what the company will look like after its proposed newspaper company is established independently in the first three months of 2008, The Providence Journal reported Tuesday.

The Dallas, Texas-based media company announced a plan to split the company in two on Oct. 1. Should the split go as planned, Belo Corp. would continue to hold the company's TV stations, while a new, separate company, to be called A.H Belo Corp., would be created to hold its newspapers.

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E.W. Scripps says a plan to split itself into two separate companies has been approved by its board. Scripps Network Interactive, which includes the company’s cable networks and Internet assets, will be spun off to shareholders, while E.W. Scripps will hold onto its newspapers and broadcast TV businesses.

The move follows Belo’s decision to spin-off of its newspaper business from its broadcast business two weeks ago.

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In order to keep their videos off YouTube, media companies may have to give their videos to YouTube.

YouTube's parent company, Google Inc., announced on Monday its long-promised method to reduce piracy, which means it will need content owners ,such as TV networks and movie studios, to provide the online video-sharing site with master copies of their videos.

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Vienna's free/paid daily Österreich has been around for more than a year, and is proudly announcing its place in Austria's top three newspaper slots, Newspaper Innovation reported Tuesday.

In a special issue handed out during the last IfraExpo, the paper stated it is in third place, not counting free circulation, after Kronen Zeitung and Kleine Zeitung, and before Kurier, Presse and Standard. If free circulation is taken into account, Österreich moves up to second place.

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McClatchy Co., one of the largest newspaper companies in the United States, stated Tuesday its profits and revenue for the third quarter have dipped sharply, leading the company to take a non-cash charge due to a 57 percent drop in its stock price since January and continued difficulty for the daily newspapers sector.

McClatchy said it is still deciding how much the charge will be, and expects to disclose an amount in the company's quarterly regulatory filing on or before Nov. 9, the Associated Press reported.

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Most senior executives prefer to get information from a mix of print and online formats, according to a recent survey by Doremus and the Financial Times.

About 75 percent of respondents said print media were not becoming obsolete. More than 60 percent said they paid more attention to print ads, and 59 percent said they trusted print more than online media for information. Six out of 10 indicated they preferred print for in-depth analysis.

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